They did become friends again, in the end. Luhan's feelings changed as his anger disappeared and he realized why Xiumin had done what he had. He wasn't able to hold any grudge when Xiumin's parents visited and Xiumin gifted them with luxurious bags and clothes to which they responded with happy smiles and proud glances. It was impossible to be angry when Xiumin told his younger sister that she could go to the expensive art school she had been dreaming of going to since 6.

And so Luhan had approached Xiumin, two months later and asked if they could be friends again. Xiumin had eagerly agreed and things had become somewhat normal. They were still close but there was some tension between them nowadays. Luhan had unconsciously brushed away Xiumin's hair from the boy's face once during dinner and Xiumin had frozen causing Luhan to quickly remove his hand. It was when Xiumin would rest his head on Luhan's shoulder in the airplane and drool all over the younger boy. When he would wake up, the boy would panic and apologize despite Luhan insisting that he didn't mind. Between them there remained a barrier that prevented them from being honest with each other. They both loved each other and wanted to be together but they were unable to, under the criticising eye of the manager. 

It was only in front of the cameras that things would change. Luhan would be able to finally hold Xiumin the way he had held him before and without restraint and Xiumin could sink into the comfort of Luhan's tender arms. They would whisper to each other. Luhan would whisper compliments and promises into Xiumin's ear and Xiumin would reply back with equal sincerity. They never talked about these promises and words when the cameras weren't on them. It was much easier to not talk about it for by talking to each other, what could they achieve? 

And so, they remained on stage; Xiumin and Luhan, Baozi and Lu-ge, well, to everyone watching anyway. But the words and little touches between them were messages from Minseok and Luhan, sad and hopeful brushes of the arm, lingering hands on each other's waists and hugs that said 'Don't go'. 

~

Xiumin sighed, fidgeting with the suspenders. The costumes for Christmas Day were seriously starting to bug him. He looked stupid and even shorter than normal in them and it was impossible to move around comfortably when wearing the suspenders. They were currently in the dressing room before one of their concerts and Xiumin was already dolled up. He was the first one to have gotten ready (they were going in age order) and was now free to do whatever he wanted. 

As he fiddled with the outfit, all he could think about was Luhan. The boy, would no doubt, be coming through the door any minute now, looking pretty and dazzling. His conversations with Luhan never came naturally unless they were playing soccer or being watched by a camera. They didn't have any more coffee trips. Xiumin was made more nervous by the fact that the manager was currently in the room at the side and had been glancing at Xiumin's direction, not very discreetly. 

Xiumin had tried to ignore the stares by playing a game on his phone but after a while, he couldn't take it anymore. "Is there something you need?" He asked, turning to face the manager, his tone blunt and straightforward. The manager seemed to be slightly shocked by the boy's sudden words but quickly masked it with a smirk. "I was just wondering what it's like being a gay. Were you bullied at school for it?" He asked, his tone mocking and rude. Xiumin frowned, "Of course not." He replied, pretending to be unaffected by the stupid question. "Really? Is that so? You know, I knew a gay kid when I was in high school." The manager informed. Xiumin gulped. "Okay." He said. "Good for you." 

The manager spoke up again. "But, unfortunately, we never really got along. You see, I used to beat him up." the manager revealed, his tone playful and relaxed. Xiumin's eyes widened at the sudden confession. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked, his voice slightly shaky. The manager smiled. "It's just, being gay, not everyone will accept you." the manager shrugged. "No one has to know." Xiumin replied. The manager just smirked in reply. 

Xiumin turned his back on the manager then, choosing not to look at him. Instead, he focused on his shoes, retying the shoelaces over and over again. He was interrupted from his fourth tying when the door was opened. He looked up to see Luhan coming out. He looked beautiful, his hair was natural and his makeup light. The clothes that looked ridiculous on Xiumin looked y on Luhan. He must have been staring too much though, as Luhan blushed at eye contact. Xiumin quickly casted his gaze back to his shoes and finished tying them up. When he looked up again, Luhan was seated near him. "Hey." Luhan said, waving awkwardly. "Hey." Xiumin said back. "Do you need me to go out of the room?" the manager teased from his perch on the table. 

Xiumin winced and saw Luhan's hands clench into fists. "We told you, there is nothing between us." Luhan said in a firm voice. Xiumin nodded in agreement although his heart protested against it. He shouldn't have felt disappointed at the words, after all, he was the one who had ended it but he did. The manager nodded. "I'm sure there's nothing." the manager said with dripping sarcasm. Xiumin sighed slightly as he leaned back against the chair, sick of the manager's antics. 

"What? Are you annoyed by me?" The manager asked playfully as he walked over to Xiumin. Xiumin opened his eyes and shook his head. "Of course not. I'm just tired." Xiumin said softly, trying to sound sincere. "Oh, of course you are. You work so very hard everyday." The manager laughed, a horrible grating sound and lightly patted Xiumin's shoulder before going back to his seat. "How about you, Luhan-ssi? Aren't you tired?" the manager asked, his voice filled with (fake) worry. Luhan looked uncomfortable as he replied "I'm fine." 

"So is it just you, Xiumin-ssi? Are you weak?" the manager mocked, gazing back at Xiumin with raised eyebrows. Xiumin felt a bit angry at the statement. "I'm not weak." He said firmly, glaring a bit. "Are you upset? Oooh, now it's getting interesting." the manager said teasingly. Xiumin bit his lip in anger, trying not to let curses slip from his mouth. He was broken out of his thoughts when Luhan spoke up, in Mandarin. "Forget about him. You're not weak." Luhan spoke in rapid fast mandarin. If it wasn't for Xiumin's recent extensive studying of the language, he wouldn't have been able to understand it. Xiumin let go of his lip and relaxed a bit. The manager glanced suspiciously between them. "What was that?" the manager interrogated. 

"Nothing. I was just rehearsing my lines from a song." Luhan lied smoothly. The manager let out a disbelieving scoff. "Yeah and I'm the CEO of SM." He retorted. They were, amazingly, prevented from having to provide a reply when Kris entered the room. The tall boy seemed to immediately figure out what was going on and quickly walked over. "You guys want to practice the dance moves one more time?" He asked casually. Xiumin gave him a grateful smile. "Sure." He said. Luhan nodded and got up as well. 

~

It was later, when they were waiting for their entrance on stage that Luhan came to Xiumin. They were still in view of most of the staff so Luhan couldn't do skinship and Xiumin couldn't hold the boy's hand. But as Luhan stretched his arms, he began to speak, his head forward. "You're the strongest, from all of us. Don't forget that, ever. You're the one who's always able to make the tough decisions and I... I was an idiot for holding it against you." Luhan said, his voice (forced) casual but (naturally) sincere. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Xiumin replied, his voice soft. Luhan turned to him, his eyes sad and loving. "Stop apologizing so much." the boy said softly. 

~

When they finished their performance of 'Christmas Day' and Suho was introducing the song (strangely, after performing it), Luhan whispered once again into Xiumin's ear. "You look really cute with this outfit." Xiumin couldn't stop the grin that came on his face then. "You look amazing, as usual." Xiumin replied. Luhan smiled his pretty pretty deer-like smile and thanked him sweetly. Xiumin wanted to melt. 

~~~

Ugh school again tomorrow. 

Sorry for the shorter update and messiness but ughhhhh

a lot of people seemed to have forgotten the MID era! don't worry, there's still some chapters until the dreaded overdose era haha

thank you for comments and subscribers! It is appreciated a lot!

PEACE Bye!